Cardiff approves 95.7% of planning applications and refuses just 1 in 23. One of the easiest places in the country to get permission.
Cardiff Council received 2,205 planning applications in 2025 and, across the 2,294 it has decided, approved 95.7% of them, well above the 87.6% national rate. Only 4.3% were refused, about 1 in 23, against a national 1 in 8. The application mix leans hard into the roofline, with dormers, loft conversions and HMO conversions all running well above the national rate. This is the planning signature of a city of terraces adding space upward.
The year in one line
Cardiff Council approved 95.7% of decided applications and refused just 1 in 23, while its application mix tilts toward roof-space projects, with dormers, lofts and HMO conversions all running well above the national rate.
What Cardiff Is Building
Extensions lead, but the roofline sets Cardiff apart.
Home extensions were the most common project submitted to Cardiff Council in 2025, at 32.6% of all applications, above the 29.1% national norm. The figures that set Cardiff apart are roof-space conversions: dormers made up 11.3% of applications and loft conversions another 6.0%, both running well above the national share. HMO conversions accounted for 2.8%, more than double the national rate. This is the application mix of a city of terraces extending and converting upward.
Applications submitted to Cardiff Council in 2025, by project type.
The roofline effect
Cardiff files dormer applications at 1.9 times the national rate and loft conversions at 2.3 times. HMO conversions run at 2.3 times the national share. In a city built around terraced housing, adding space often means going up.
The council verdict
A near-certain yes.
Cardiff Council approved 95.7% of the applications it decided and refused just 4.3%, about 1 in 23. Both figures stand well clear of the national average. Permission is easier to get here than in most of the country, with the refusal rate less than half the national 12.4%.
About 1 in 23 Cardiff applications was turned down.
of applications approved, against an 87.6% national rate. Only 1 in 23 applications was refused, compared with 1 in 8 nationally.
Cardiff vs The National Norm
A terraced city, by the numbers.
Set Cardiff's application mix against the national average and the roof-space tilt is clear. Loft conversions feature at 2.3 times the national share, dormers at 1.9 times and HMO conversions at 2.3 times. Home extensions are also above the norm, at 32.6% against 29.1%. The one category running below the national share is retrospective applications, at 2.5% versus 3.7% nationally, suggesting owners here tend to seek permission before they build.
Cardiff files loft conversion applications at 2.3 times the national rate. In a city of terraces, owners add space by converting the roof rather than the plot.
Each bar is Cardiff's share of applications submitted in 2025; the marker is the national share. Roof-space conversions are the city's defining tilt.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices moved alongside the building work.
Permission may be among the easiest in the country to win here, but prices have kept climbing alongside the building work.
Cardiff's planning data tells a clear story. The council approved 95.7% of the applications it decided, one of the highest rates in the country, and refused fewer than 1 in 23. What stands out is what owners apply for: dormers, loft conversions and HMOs, the moves you make when you own a terrace and the only spare room is the roof. For anyone buying here, the upside is usually upward.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Cardiff Council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications in the 2024-2025 pooled window. Decision rates cover all applications decided across that period.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, based on the 2,294 applications decided within the Cardiff Council area across 2024-2025. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Cardiff post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications submitted to Cardiff Council in 2025, leading with the HMO and roof-space conversions that set the city apart, alongside a change of use and a refusal.
26 Hollybush Road CF23 6TA
A pitched-roof dormer was added with an external lift shaft, the roof-space work Cardiff files at nearly twice the national rate. The council granted it.
See this property's full record18 Rhyd Yr Helyg, Nantgarw CF15 7SX
Permission was granted for a loft conversion with a rear dormer, the upward move Cardiff makes at 2.3 times the national rate.
See this property's full record17 Broadstairs Road CF11 8DE
A hip-to-gable roof conversion with a rear dormer was approved, a classic way of winning a room in a Cardiff terrace.
See this property's full record8 Exford Crescent, Llanrumney CF3 4JQ
A side and rear extension with a dormer loft conversion was granted, combining the extra ground space and the roof space in one job.
See this property's full record3 Bishops Avenue, Llandaff CF5 2HJ
An existing single-storey rear extension was replaced with a new one, the most common project type in Cardiff. The council granted it.
See this property's full record8 Alfred Terrace, Taffs Well CF15 7RJ
A rear extension and change of use to a large HMO was approved, part of the HMO conversion activity running at 2.3 times the national rate in Cardiff.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Cardiff?
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